How has the Internet Impacted Communication Today

The internet has changed the way we communicate. It is now fast and instant plus there are no boundaries. There are benefits and disadvantage but let us see the good first.

Speed

Gone are the days of carrier pigeons and The Pony Express. Modern communication is handled by wireless signals, undersea cables, satellites and other advanced technology, ensuring the almost instantaneous delivery of messages and data to any location on the planet. The accessibility of technology also means that you don’t need to be in any special location like a post office or mail room to send a message; all you need is a cell phone anywhere there is a signal.

Interaction

Online communication has opened the door to new ways of communicating with strangers and taking part in communities. Chat rooms, discussion forums and dating sites let people meet each other and get to know more people without having to be there in person. This gives much more flexibility when it comes to scheduling and dealing with social anxiety; long-distance relationships, for example, are now looked at as reasonable options, escaping the stigma or stress previously associated with them. Online relationships, both platonic and intimate, have become a social norm.

It would be expected that someone born in the information era will be for the internet and how it has improved how we communicate however some of them disagree. The internet makes out interpersonal skills rust and we tell a lot of lies.

Elise Choi, 16, Sai Kung Sung Tsun Catholic School

People around the world are using the internet to communicate nowadays, but is it that efficient? I don’t think so. We communicate because we want to know more about our friends and family. We want to know how they feel and what they are like.

The most popular things on the internet are social websites like Facebook, instant messaging like MSN, and e-mail. Although it is convenient to talk via the internet, we cannot rely on it as the only means of communication. Problems arise when we cannot see the person we are talking to. When people spend a lot of time online, their ability to talk to others face-to-face deteriorates. Their interpersonal skills could be affected and they might end up having fewer friends in real life.

Furthermore, it’s easy to tell lies on the internet because we cannot see people’s faces – we cannot see their expressions. Lying does not make for good communication. We might also misunderstand others because words can have different meanings.

Before computers, people met and spoke to each other and built strong friendships.